Bloodied and blistered, Eilish McColgan’s second shot at the London Marathon proved to be a frustrating experience for the Scottish runner.
While the spotlight was on Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becoming the first athlete to break the two-hour barrier in an official competition, winning the men’s race in a world record one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, McColgan went through agonies as her foot “exploded”.
The Dundonian somehow still found the strength to finish and her time of 2hr 24min 51sec was marginally down on last year when she clocked 2.24:25. She finished seventh and was the first British woman home.
It was a tough day for McColgan who now faces a big decision on whether to compete in this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“Not long after halfway, I had a really, really bad blister in my foot,” she said. “It sounds strange but the only way I can say it is I felt like my foot just exploded. I had this massive tear and I thought ‘what the hell is that?’
“It was obviously pretty sore, but for it to happen quite early on, it panicked me a little bit.
I was covered in blood
“I just felt like I was then running a bit funny, I couldn’t put my full pressure through my foot. Part of me was like, ‘it’s a long way to make it to 26.2 [miles]’ and I started to hurt in different areas as well, so I don’t know if I was running funny through it.
“I got to 24 miles and my knee started playing up and went on me a bit and I thought ‘God, I can’t get to 24 miles and not finish it’. I’m disappointed with how my body held up. I’ve done a half [marathon] in those shoes and a 10km in those shoes, I wear them all the time, so I don’t know why [it happened], especially that early.
“I was just covered in blood. I had to go to see the doctor after the race. It was frustrating to run the same sort of time as last year, on my debut.”
McColgan said prior to London that she may not run in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow if she struggles to recover from the marathon. It took a toll on her body last year and it sounds like it was ever more exacting this time around.
If she doesn’t make it, it will come as a major blow to organisers and athletics fans alike. McColgan’s gold medal run to glory in the 10,000 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was one of the great Scottish sporting moments.
But her focus is now very much on marathon running and there is no marathon at the Glasgow games which begin on July 23 and end on August 2. If she is to run, it will be in the 10,000m again.
I have a qualifying time but to be honest it’s about recovery from London, which was the priority,” she said before the London Marathon. “If I can bounce back and run well, then you’ll see me. But if I really struggle after London, like I did last year, then it might not be on the cards.”
